Story of My Life
by Sakura4eva
Summary: What if 9 particular kids found eachother when they were young and needed it most? Before Sakura met Ino; before Naruto befriended Iruka. After the Uchiha's fall; after Gaara's dad tried to kill him; after Neji lost his dad. During the story of their life
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I'm starting to think I wouldn't mind it, though... Hmmm XD

Summary: What if nine particular kids found each other when they were young and when they needed it most? Before Sakura met Ino. Before Naruto befriended Iruka. Before Gaara went crazy. After Sasuke's clan's massacre. After Gaara's dad tried to kill him. After Neji's dad was killed. During the story of their life.

**Extras:**

Notes: These nine nine-year-olds run off together. Naruto never needed the attention, so Hokage never became his dream. Sakura never met Ino, so she never gained her self confidence, and she and Hinata are a lot alike because of that.

Pairings: N/A for now... Fluff for sure! There will be fluff for NaruSaku, but there'll be more NaruHina once it has gotten going. Hints of SasuSaku, NejiTen, ShikaTema, and more! :D

Main character(s): Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata ... and more, but I can't tell you right now! XP

Chapter(s): Long-ish with medium prologue.

Inspiration: Yes, I got this idea while listening to the song 'Story of My Life' on youtube, and there was one particular video and one certain picture in there that showed young Naruto with his arms over Shikamaru's, Chouji's and Kiba's shoulders. The other kids I figured out from a couple other pictures on youtube by the same person who made the other video, so... -Shrugs with a grin-

**AN: ... -Sweat drops- More Sakura, more song inspiration, and more stories... Sighhh. On with the story, ne? XP Plus, I loved this idea and summary! :D**

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Story of My Life

Prologue

Pant, pant.

Footsteps sounded loudly down the village's street.

More pants and a pause in their running.

"Phew." The person wheezed out.

A deep breath and the running continued again.

"**HEY**!! YOU LITTLE DEMON CHILD - GET BACK HERE!!" a voice rang out through the early morning's air.

A small flock of birds rise and take off, fluttering their wings quickly at the disturbance; causing morning dew to drip down off the tree tall branches that they were previously resting in - the tiny droplets splattering around the ground.

The boy just kept running, concentrating on the ground below his feet and ignoring the constant threats from behind him and in front of hi- Wait...? In front? The boy's frightened eyes lifted to see about five rather scary looking men standing with strong, wooden clubs in their tough hands. Their eyes held a menacing leer, and the tiny blond could tell that these men were not about to help him get away.

He gave out a sharp squeak and darted to the left; narrowly missing the closest man's snatching hands.

The poor, young boy ran for his life, absolutely terrified of what would happen if he was caught.

After about another ten minutes of persistent chasing and running, the threats died off, as the boy's steps also faded. Still wheezing, the blue eyed child dropped to the ground in a near by alley way.

"That was _far_ too close." he muttered, rubbing his sore muscles.

Suddenly, the boy heard a whimpering not too far away. Being the sweet, curious boy that he was, he stood up immediately, ignoring the pains through out his exhausted body, and stepped carefully towards the saddening noises.

As he drew closer to the sniffles and whimpers, he heard some voices and other noises as well.

A slap followed by, "You're such a waste of life. What an ugly face, too. I don't know why your parents haven't abandoned you yet, but expect it soon, _Forehead Girl_." That nasty voice made the boy shudder. He had to stop this!

"S-stop," he whispered. Then more clearly, "Stop." He paused again and realized that they hadn't heard him. "STOP!" he yelled, just coming out of his spot in the bushes.

Immediately, four heads turned. That's when he got a good look at the scene, and was completely glad that he had stopped it.

A young girl, about his age, lay holding one side of her face - her clothes, hair and skin were all dirty, she was wearing wripped up garments that looked extremely cheap, and her sad, emerald eyes were covered lightly with her light salmon - almost pink - bangs.

Two girls stood above her and another was leaning over the petite girl on the ground. Anyone could easily tell that they were bullying her, that the girl on the ground was the one slapped, and that the one standing above was the one who had slapped her.

The one who had slapped her stood more straight and turned to face him completely. She was obviously the 'leader' of their little 'gang'. "Why do you care about her? She's just a... Forehead Girl."

The two girls beside her started laughing. "Good one, Ami-chan!" one called out, still giggling hysterically.

However, the girl behind whimpered which made the boy's cerulean eyes steel. "What are you doing picking on her? What did she ever do to you? You know what? Never mind. Just leave and take your petty 'friends' with you." he spat.

The three girls cried out a bit in shock, and turned around, rushing to, what he supposed, were their homes.

The boy smirked and almost laughed until he remembered the girl on the ground.

He bent down, outstretching a tanned arm. "My name's Uzumaki Naruto. What's yours?"

The girl hesitated for a moment, but saw the sincerity behind Naruto's eyes and smiled lightly, placing her hand in his. "Sakura..." she whispered and paused. "Haruno Sakura."

Naruto grinned. "Nice to meet you, Sakura-chan! Do you want to be friends? I've never had a friend... Do you suppose friends get ramen together? Ooh! That would be so much fun, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura looked taken back. "F... Friend? I h-haven't h-had a friend, e-either." She paused. "Sure, I-I'd love to be your f-friend, N-Naruto-kun."

"Great!" he exclaimed then gave a sheepish grin a second later. "So... Do you want to go for ramen?"

Sakura smiled. "W-why not?"

With that, the two friends, still holding hands, skipped off to Icharaku Ramen. Well, one skipped, the other tried to keep her balance beside the hyper boy.

_'A friend. My first friend.'_

What a great feeling.

"So how old are you, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, half understandable with his beloved ramen noodles sticking out of his mouth.

Sakura giggled. "I-I'm six, Naruto-kun. W-what about y-you?"

"I just turned six!" he yelled, happily wolfing down some more noodles and almost choked.

She laughed quietly at that.

"Hey, Sakura-chan?" Naruto started, swallowing and pausing in his eating to face her.

"Y-yeah?"

"Well, I was just wondering, why are you so quiet? I mean, sure, I can understand before, but why now?" he asked.

"A-ano..." she mumbled. "I d-don't r-really know w-why..." She shrugged and continued eating her food.

Naruto scrunched up his brow. "Really?" Then he noticed that she was eating and was instantly reminded of his ramen. "Oh well. Suit your self." He smiled.

She smiled back and they quickly finished up their 'breakfast'.

"Now where to, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, once they had stepped outside.

A lot of the citizens were waking up now, and when they saw their local 'demon boy' conversing with a sweet, innocent, Haruno girl, they did a double take. _'What on earth-?'_ went through a lot of their minds, but decided that they couldn't chase after him while he was still with that young girl. However, many kept their eyes on them; afraid that he might do something to her.

Sakura might not have noticed this, but Naruto sure did. Still, he didn't say anything, simply because he had no idea what was wrong and because he was thankful to finally have a real friend. He didn't want her to run away, too.

**Two Years later**

"Come on, Sakura-chan." a boy's voice whispered through the night.

From behind the fence he was leaning on, you could hear some scuffling.

Suddenly, there was a rather loud 'thump'.

"Shhh." he hissed, quietly.

"S-sorry." she mumbled back rubbing her sore toe.

His eyes softened. "It's okay, Sakura-chan."

"Hey, Naruto?"

"Yeah?" he asked, turning his face back to the fence.

"I-I don't th-think I can get o-over it..."

"Sure you can!" he grinned, even though she couldn't see it.

A sigh. "A-alright, I'll t-try again."

His grin widened. "Good, 'cause I'm telling you that you need to learn how to do this. You said you wanted to become a ninja, right?"

He received what he guessed to be a nod, but he wasn't sure, so she whispered a tiny "Yes."

"Then you have to be brave enough to climb over a five foot fence with a ladder right beside it."

She paused. "C... C-can you put a l-ladder on the other s-side, too?" she muttered.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Fine, but you know that ninjas can't just take five ladders everywhere they go, right?"

She sighed again. "O-of course, b-but I'm training r-right now."

He laughed. "Alright, it's up."

"Okay, th-thanks, Naruto-kun."

"No problem... Now hurry up, I think the neighbours will want their ladders back pretty soon." he said, eyeing the man a couple houses down on top of a roof who was trying to convince himself that he wasn't crazy and that he did, in fact, put a ladder there to get up.

"O-okay."

A step was heard as she placed her foot onto the first rung.

Another step. And another.

Pretty soon, she was standing on the seventh rung, about three feet above the fence ... and she was shaking.

"Th-this is t-t-t-terrifying!" she whimpered.

Naruto turned around and his eyes widened, before breaking down in hysteric laughter.

"Silly," he chuckled. "You're not supposed to go that high up on the rungs! Come down a few, then step onto the ladder on the other side."

Her face brightened. "Oh... Y-yeah."

She did as he said and quickly climbed off the 'Giant Rungs of Doom', as she called them.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" he asked, taking up one of the ladders and motioning for her to take the other.

Sakura shrugged as she picked up the ladder by the edges of it, keeping the rungs as far from herself as possible. "Say what y-you will. Th-those things are s-scary."

"Well, ninjas don't usually use ladders, so you're safe." he said, rolling his eyes.

She half glared at him through the shadows of his neighbour's house. "You're telling me that people-"

"Ninjas." he corrected.

Sakura sighed. "-Ninjas actually would jump down off of that height?!"

Naruto nodded, slowly. "Of course."

She placed the ladder in place and huffed, turning away with Naruto right beside her. "Then w-why am I d-doing this?"

"Doing what?" he asked, glancing every now and then at the guy jumping all around his house, now screaming something about 'hallucinations' and that he was sure that he was now officially crazy - the ladder 'never moved'. Naruto cracked up at that.

Sakura raised an eye brow at him then at the guy telling his wife to take him to the doctor immediately. "Becoming a n-ninja."

"You want to prove to Ami that she's weak and you're strong. Heck," Naruto smiled, comfortingly at his pink haired, eight year old friend. "Don't you want to prove to your _parents_ that you're not weak?"

Well, he struck a chord, and he knew it.

"..." Sakura glared straight ahead of them, and Naruto took it as a 'Damn straight'!

He had gotten pretty good at reading her expressions, postures, and little squeaks. She could probably be a pretty self confident girl, if some one gave her that boost, but no one ever tried, so they stuck together. Sakura didn't even stutter that much anymore when they were together, but she still did.

"I-I met a-a girl t-today..." Sakura said, finally.

This time it was Naruto's turn to raise a brow at her. "A new friend?"

She shook her head sadly. "No." He threw her a questioning gaze for her to elaborate. "Sh-she p-probably doesn't e-even know I-I exist."

"Nani? What do you mean?" Naruto was completely puzzeled. Here, he thought they were about to get a new person to hang out with them.

"She's a-a lot like m-me, actually." she murmured. "Sh-she stutters, blushes a lot, and i-is a-all and all a p-pretty quiet girl."

His brow furrowed, thoughtfully. "Do you mean... Oh what's her name..." He paused. "I know! Hyuuga Hinata, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Uh-huh. I j-just thought... ano... I th-thought that she w-would b-be a really n-nice person." She shrugged. "I want t-to ask her, b-but I'm not all th-that g-good at talking t-to people..." Sakura trailed off.

"NANI?!" Naruto exclaimed, he knew where this was going. "Are you kidding? I can't just go up to her; she might faint or something."

Sakura laughed. "H-how about we go together, th-then, ne?"

Naruto thought for a moment then grinned and bobbed his head up and down, rapidly. "Sure, Sakura-chan."

"Great! S-see you tomorrow a-at the academy, N-Naruto-kun!" she said, waving at him, then turned and jogged off.

Naruto laughed. "Yep, see you!" She was almost out of sight when he added, "And don't get caught!"

"I won't!" she called back, but not nearly as loud.

He smiled, pityingly. _'Poor Sakura-chan. Her parents would probably flip if they found out that she was going to a ninja's academy. I'm so glad that me smuggled her in, though. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to hang out much!'_

Naruto then turned around and silently made his way to the apartment he was reluctantly given when he was old enough to live on his own. As he went through his normal nightly task, he smiled happily to himself. _'Can't wait for tomorrow! We get another friend!'_

With that thought in mind, the young boy went to bed and slept with no nightmares, just like he always has since he became friends with Sakura two years before.

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AN: ... I know what you're thinking; 'ANOTHER STORY?! You just put one on hold!' And yes, I did just put one on hold, sure, but I have huge inspiration for this story and... I'M HAVING SO MUCH FUN!! XD

**JA!**

**- Cady :D**


	2. Massacre! I'll be there for you

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. If I did, what would be the point in me doing fanfictions? Lol!

Summary: What if nine particular kids found each other when they were young and needed it most? Before Sakura met Ino. Before Naruto befriended Iruka. Before Gaara went crazy. After Sasuke's clan's massacre. After Gaara's dad tried to kill him. After Neji's dad was killed. During the story of their life.

**Extras:**

Notes/Details:These eight-year-old kids run off together. Naruto never needed the attention, so Hokage never became his dream. Sakura never met Ino, so she never gained her self confidence, and she and Hinata are a lot alike.

Pairings: N/A for now... Fluff for sure!

Main character(s): Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, and more.

Chapter(s): Not sure anymore, but they will be long-ish...

Inspiration: I got this idea while listening to the song 'Story of My Life' on youtube, and there was one particular video and one certain picture in there that showed young Naruto with his arms over Shikamaru's, Chouji's and Kiba's shoulders. The other kids I figured out from a couple other pictures in another amv by the same person. /watch?vW0jhv79Cetg&featureuser

**AN: Mwuhahahaa!! More Sakura, more song inspiration, and more stories... Cha! Now, on with the story, ne? XP Definitely my favourite chapter story by me... so far. XD Enjoy!**

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**Story of My Life**

Ch.1 - Massacre! I'll be there for you

Naruto yawned tiredly and rolled out of bed. As he sluggishly moved towards his kitchen table, he thought about yesterday's activities.

_'Great. Sakura-chan wants me to talk to Hinata with her today.'_

"I wonder what time it is...?" he muttered, chugging down some freshly bought milk.

Sakura was always buying new groceries with him to make sure he was healthy. Of course, she never actually went through the line, claiming that it was too 'embarrasing', but she did help out a lot. He had no doubt that he would otherwise be drinking sour milk. Yuck!

Just as the blond haired boy finished up his toast and jam, he noticed his clock for the first time.

...

"Oh." he said, blinking. _'Shoot.'_

--

It was fairly quiet in streets of Konoha for a Tuesday morning. Sure, there were the usual noises of the villagers bustling about, children on their way to the academy, and, occasionally, a few people conversing with marketers, but there was nothing that really stood out. It was a pretty laid back community now that Naruto had been labeled 'safe'.

Of course, no one would actually let their children hang around him, but they didn't stop a certain pink haired, emerald eyed, eight-year-old from playing with him, either. Said girl was always around him and the people really didn't mind. Hey, it wasn't their kid!

Then again, the Haruno's didn't mind, either. In fact, she could even disappear, and they wouldn't think much of it. They might be annoyed that she didn't arrive to do her chores after school, but if she never came back, they'd think 'Good riddance'.

Just then, the peace was disturbed.

"ARG! I'm late, I'm late!" The shout was heard through out almost the entire village - including the small academy not to far from the person doing the yelling.

"Heh heh." a small girl chuckled quietly. She was seated near the middle of the class, an emty seat beside her.

She received some raised brows since she even made a noise, but they were ignored when a boy came rushing through the doors of their classroom.

The girl grinned. "N-Naruto-kun!" she called out. Though it was quiet, he still heard her, and once he saw who it was, grinned immediately back.

"Sakura-chan!" he greeted, still slightly panting as he made his way to her, also ignoring the looks from his classmates; this time the looks were that of disgust. "Sorry I'm late, Iruka-senseii." he said, taking the reserved seat by his friend.

The brown haired man at the front nodded. "Alright, Naruto. Try not to let it happen again, okay?" After receiving an 'okay' back, he started the lesson.

--

A couple hours later, they were all dismissed for lunch. Sakura and Naruto went out together to eat their food, leaving every one else to sort themselves out - the girls to fawn over a certain Uchiha; the rest to either glare at the onyx eyed boy or to head out with their friends to eat.

There were a few loners, but they either weren't noticed or preferred to be so.

As Naruto took out his ramen for the two to share, along with two sets of chop sticks, Sakura started talking.

"S-so, Naruto-kun, I w-was thinking th-that now would b-be a g-great time to talk to H-Hinata-chan. Y-you know, a-ask her to eat w-with us or something. B-break the ice?" she suggested, taking the chop sticks she was handed with a smile.

Naruto shrugged. "Go ahead."

Sakura glared. "You have to c-come! You p-promised!" she begged.

The blonde's eyes widened. "Are you kidding? I have RAMEN. I can't leave now." he pouted, pointing at his bowl of miso noodles for emphasis.

"I'm sure i-it can wait, N-Naruto-kun." she mumbled, rolling her eyes at his antics.

With that, she stood up and walked towards where she knew the shy Hyuuga heiress was, dragging her pouting friend behind her.

As they approached Hinata, they noticed that she was truly alone. No one even came near. It was like she didn't have any friends either.

Naruto immediately forgot about his momentarily abandoned ramen and his eyes softened. He remembered clearly what it was like with no friends and he didn't ever want to go back to it.

Apparently Sakura remembered to, since she jogged up to the Hyuuga, leaving all self consciousness and doubts behind. "Hinata?" she asked, gaining the young girl's attention right away.

Her head shot up so fast, you'd think she got whip lash. "Y-yes? W-would you l-like m-me to m-move? A-am I i-in the w-way? I'm s-so s-sorry!" she stuttered, jumping up and scurrying farther into the side of the tree.

Sakura furrowed her brows then giggled. "N-no, no! I was w-wondering if you wanted t-to eat lunch w-with us. You w-weren't in the w-way." she reassured, holding out a hand to the indigo haired girl huddled on the ground.

Hinata visibly relaxed. "Y-you... R-really?" she asked.

Sakura nodded, both she and Naruto smiling warmly at her.

Smiling back, Hinata stuck out a shy hand into Sakura's and was pulled up gently. "Th-thank you." she mumbled.

"No problem!" Naruto exclaimed, starting to warm up to her. She reminded him a lot of Sakura, but she was different; he could tell already. Sakura just needed that boost to get her confident in her self, while Hinata would need a whole lot more then that to get her out of her shell.

"The name's Uzumaki Naruto and this is-"

"Sakura." the pink haired girl introduced.

Naruto was shocked. No, shocked would be an understatement. There really wasn't a word to describe how he was feeling right now. It was a good feeling though, with a sense of sadness lingering about. Sakura had never introduced herself before. Ever. Sure, he glad that she was starting, if only by a little, to get used to talking to people; but it was sad because he suddenly felt that he wouldn't be needed if Hinata was around. What if now that she had a female friend, she wouldn't play with him any more?

No, that was ridiculous, he decided, walking off with the two females beside him. Naruto chuckled as he finished up his ramen, earning a curious gaze from Sakura and Hinata, but he just grinned at them.

Sakura would never desert him. He knew that. They were true friends until the very end and now, Hinata would joining their little inner circle, adding to their fun.

--

After school, a couple days later, Sakura was headed towards her house when she decided that she didn't want to go home. Who would when you had her type of parents? She made her way to the park, instead. Naruto was getting free ramen from Iruka and Hinata had to go home, so she had no one to hang out with.

Upon arriving at the entrance, she realized that it was closed.

She frowned. _'Darn renovations.'_

Sakura turned around, not letting that get her hopes down. _'Maybe if I head to a different park...? I wonder if there is another park.'_She pondered on that for a moment before deciding that she would explore the village for another one.

After what felt like an hour of tiring, non stop searching, she plopped down at the side of the road. The young girl was tired, and soon fell fast asleep.

No one noticed the small child that was lazed out at the entrance of the Uchiha district.

--

Blink. Blink.

Yawn.

_'Huh?'_

Haruno Sakura had just woken up in time to watch the sun... go down?

_'Uh-oh.'_she thought, jumping up to try and make it home on time for dinner. Even though she was probably already too late and her parents were fuming - she didn't make her bed or do the dishes - she figured that she might as well try. The sooner, the better. Besides, Naruto was probably worried, along with Hinata!

Just as she was about to run home, she heard a scream from behind her. _'Nani?!'_

The young girl spun around to face the terrifying sound. _'I'm at the Uchiha district?'_ she thought, idly glancing at the sign above.

Sakura stood still for a moment, before another muffled shriek was heard, and curiosity got the better of her. Stepping warily into the Uchiha streets, she noted with disgust that there were bodies everywhere!

At first she thought that maybe they all had a party and had sake then passed out, just like her parents did after they yelled at her for about an hour every night, but then she saw blood.

They were not just passed out or asleep.

She almost screamed until she remembered that if she was heard, what or whoever was doing this massacring would come to get her. Sakura tip toed as quietly as could farther into the residence, peaking into each home, only to see more dead Uchiha's.

The poor pink haired girl was searching desperately for survivors. She knew some Uchiha's and a few were quite nice to her. In fact, Sasuke's mother, Uchiha Mikoto, she often considered her to be her second mother and would go to her a few times when she was too scared to go home.

_'This is bad. This is __so__ bad!'_Sakura screamed, inwardly. Deciding that it would be best to go straight to Mikoto, she turned and quickly made her way to her house; after all, Mikoto, Sasuke, Fugaku, and Itachi were far to strong to just be killed like that! Especially Itachi.

Nodding to herself at her own unasked doubts, she stepped more confidently to the rice paper door to their home. Sliding it quietly open, she hopped in and went straight to Mikoto and Fugaku's room. Upon hearing no answer to her quiet call, she opened their room. Nothing. She frowned.

Walking back out, Sakura headed to Sasuke's room. No one. Her last hope, since she dared not go into Itachi's bedroom, was the living room.

Just as she was about to open the door, she heard sounds from inside. Even though she knew better, she stood outside the door, eavesdropping. _'I'm just taking precautions.'_she thought, trying to reassure herself with little to no success.

"I-Itachi-chan!" a voice called out, almost pleading sounding.

Sakura frowned. _'Mikoto.'_

"Itachi, stop this." another voice commanded, though a tinge of fear or worry was laced into their words.

_'Fugaku.' _Sakura deduced.

"Why?" A last voice, cold as ice, but not much of a question.

_'... Itachi?'_ Sakura thought, unsure.

"Don't stand in my way, I never was aiming for you." Itachi finished, still emotionless.

_'What?' _Sakura's eyes widened considerably. _'If I'm thinking about this correctly... Itachi said that he wasn't aiming for them... Itachi killed the rest of the clan!'_

Sakura just about burst into tears when a voice suddenly said something to freeze her very blood.

"Who's there?" Itachi asked, glaring at the door Sakura stood behind.

She wanted to scream and run for help, and probably would have if not for another voice. A new voice. From right behind her.

Sakura felt herself pushed to the side and the new comer slid open the door too late to see Itachi stab both Fugaku and Mikoto in the heart. She looked up to see her 'savior' and saw...

"Sasuke..." she whispered.

The boy stood still for a moment. "Tou-san? Kaa-san?" he asked, starting to tremble. He lifted his young face up from their dead bodies to see his brother stepping out of the shadows. "Nee-san!"

Itachi gave a blank look as Sasuke started to rant about how their parents were dead. He threw a kunai to silence him, skimming his younger brother's upper arm. "Foolish ototou."

Sasuke's eyes widened as reality sunk in.

Just before Itachi could use the Mangekyo Sharingan on him, Sakura jumped out, shaking all over, but she stood in front of Sasuke.

Itachi ended up putting her in his Mangekyo world and she watched the clan die. Screaming, Sakura fell to the floor.

Sasuke ran up next to her, gently shaking her shoulder, but she just lay on the floor, mumbling out the truth to Sasuke as quickly as she could.

Sasuke looked at his brother, but had felt some of the Mangekyo power from Itachi along with the loss of blood from his left arm where the kunai had struck, so his sight was rather blurry and fell to the floor.

"Nii-san ... why?" he asked, slowly.

Itachi just gave him an emotionless stare, ignoring Sakura altogether. "To measure my capacity." he stated.

"Measure ... your capacity?" he muttered, not sure if he heard him right. He killed a whole clan, for goodness sake! HIS clan. "That's all? That's the only reason that everyone has..." Sasuke couldn't bring himself to say it, but now he was getting angry.

"It was necessary." Itachi confirmed.

Sasuke slowly started getting up. "What was...?" he started, then jumped up and ran at his brother. "Don't fuck with me!" he yelled, only to be punched effortlessly in the gut.

Sakura forced herself to stand slightly, but she didn't want to get involved. Instead, she leaned up against the door frame, tears streaming down her face.

As Sasuke dropped to the ground, he started crying out of fear that he would only admit to himself. Screaming in blind terror, he charged out of the room, followed closely by Sakura, but she kept quiet.

Running down the streets, Sasuke was still crying, trying as hard as he could to get away from Itachi and forget about this horrible night. However, fate was not so kind to Sasuke.

Itachi stepped out in front of the young boy. Sakura was shivering behind the youngest Uchiha, glad to be forgotten.

The eldest Uchiha there then started talking about Sasuke's potential, letting him live, testing capacities, and Mangekyo Sharingan, and just as he was starting to talk about Sasuke's hatred for Itachi or even use it again; Sakura didn't know which, nor did she care, she screamed a scream that would alert any ANBU's to come and check out the area.

Itachi scowled. Muttering a few departing words to Sasuke 'Itachi style' **(AN: You know, hate me and what not)**, he disappeared into the night.

Just as Sasuke was about to fall, Sakura ran up to him and caught his body.

"I promise..." she started, a few tears still falling from her cheeks onto his. "I'll always be here for you. Friends 'til the end."

Sasuke looked up at her with blurry eyes. "You promise?" he asked, holding out a hand with it's pinkie sticking out.

"I promise." Sakura told him, locking their little fingers together, before they both passed out in exhaustion, hearing the footsteps of ANBU heading their way.

--

**AN: Hmmm. Yes, I took some of those ending lines from the show, but I wasn't sure what to say there. I'm actually quite pleased with how this turned out, of course I'd have liked it longer, but oh well. Anyways, I know I said that it would be out earlier, but I started beta reading for two more writers. They are wonderful people, so I have no regrets, but I never get time to write anymore! T.T No worries, though, 'cause this chapter is now out! If anyone wants to be ****my ****beta, however ... PM me. :D Ja for now!**

**OH WAIT! Before I go, I wanted to say 'Thanks' to my three reviewers;**

_cute0anime0addict_, _mkt_, and _Frog-Wallet_

**and for all **_28_** hits on this story. Thanks again!**

**- Cady :D**


	3. Recuperating and Befriending

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Sorry. XD

Summary: What if nine particular kids found each other when they were young and needed it most? Before Sakura met Ino. Before Naruto befriended Iruka. Before Gaara went crazy. After Sasuke's clan's massacre. After Gaara's dad tried to kill him. After Neji's dad was killed. During the story of their life.

**Extras:**

Notes/Details: These eight-year-olds run off together. Naruto never needed the attention, so Hokage never became his dream. Sakura never met Ino, so she never gained her self confidence, and she and Hinata are a lot alike.

Main character(s): Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, and more.

Inspiration: The song by Bon Jovi called 'Story of My Life'. To go there, just copy this link: _/watch?vW0jhv79Cetg&featureuser_Any amv by this person is amazingly well done!

**AN: I had the same AN for the prologue as chapter 1... didn't I? 0.o Sorry 'bout that! Heh heh. On with the story now?**

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**Story of My Life**

Ch.2 - Recuperating and Befriending

When Sakura awoke in a white hospital room, she did a double take.

_'What the...? Hospital? When did that happen, I wonder...'_ she thought, clearly dazed, for she hadn't seen any of the other people in the room.

"Sakura-chan!" two voices called out, one more shy then the other, but both sounded relieved.

"Hm?" Sakura mumbled, groggily, squinting through tired eyes. "W-what's up, g-guys?"

"What's up? WHAT'S UP?!" Naruto exclaimed, incredulously. "Are you kidding me? You were found passed out right after..." He trailed off when Hinata nudged him slightly, but Sakura knew what he was talking about.

"Uchiha m-murder." she muttered. Suddenly, everything came back from that dreadful evening before. "S-Sasuke!"

With that, the girl jumped out of her bed, threw on some random clothes of hers that happened to be placed by her bedside, and bolted out the door, heading straight to the front desk, leaving her two bewildered friends in her wake.

"H-hello?" she asked, panting in front of the big desk placed strategically in front of the front doors to the large hospital.

A woman peered over the edge of her desk until she saw the petite pink haired child, looking expectantly up at her. "Yes? What can I do for you, sweetie?" she asked kindly, a tag on her shirt flashed showing that her name was Rin.

"Uh... M-may I please know wh-where Sasuke's r-room is a-at?" Sakura asked, hopeful that he hadn't left or forgotten their promise.

Just as Rin was about to answer, a voice came from behind Sakura. She spun around and, low and behold, there was Sasuke!

Her smile brightened and she threw herself into the surprised boy's arms. "You d-didn't l-leave!" she exclaimed, happily.

"I just got up." he stated, trying to get out of her arms, to which she obliged. "I was thinking about coming to ask if you were still in here, but you're already up."

Sakura nodded. "Y-yeah, and I w-was going to a-ask if you w-wanted to hang o-out ... or s-something..." she said, quietly, suddenly feeling quite ridiculous.

The young Uchiha looked at her oddly, before shrugging. "I just want to be alone right now... See you later?"

She paused, realizing that 'hanging out' wasn't what he needed. She smiled in understanding. "O-of course, S-Sasuke-san."

"Sasuke." he said.

She tilted her head to the side in obvious confusion. "Hm?"

"Don't call me Sasuke-san. Just Sasuke." he corrected, giving her a minuscule smile.

Sakura just nodded, having a strange feeling that she wouldn't be seeing that smile from him all that often and watched him leave. Just before Sasuke got out the front doors, however, Sakura ran to him, catching the bottom of his dark t-shirt in her small, scrunched up fist.

"D-don't... Don't c-cut yourself off f-from the world, ne, Sasuke-s... Sasuke?" She caught herself in time, but wanted to make sure that her new friend would stay as ... himself. That Uchiha Sasuke would stay Uchiha Sasuke; not some half crazy boy, bent on revenging his clan.

Sasuke stopped for a moment, before turning around; smile showing deep with in his onyx eyes, while his mouth was set in a thin line. Then with out warning, he pulled the stunned girl into an awkward and brief hug. "Thank you."

With that, he pulled away, and walked out of the hospital, just as sollem as he was two minutes ago.

Sakura grinned. _'I think he remembers our promise!'_

**About a half week later; in school**

"Sakura-chan! Hinata-chan!" a blond haired boy called out through the mid day sky. "You coming?"

The emerald eyed, young girl nodded in consent, following him with Hinata on her heels. "Mhm. Coming, N-Naruto-kun." she mumbled, pulling her bento box closer to her chest. Sakura had been rather worried recently, as Sasuke hadn't been at school since the incident, nor had she seen or heard from him. In fact, worried was an understatement.

It was lunch time, meaning that this was the third day and a half that the young Uchiha had been away.

She shrugged her thoughts off in vain, skipping to where Naruto was seated in their usual place under a sakura blossom tree and sat down.

"Hey g-guys..." Sakura started, unsure for a moment as she paused in digging her lunch out of her little box. "Have e-either of you seen Sasuke recently?"

Naruto and Hinata stared at each other for a moment. "I don't think so, Sakura-chan-"

Naruto was cut off, however, when Hinata suddenly interrupted, uncharacteristically exclaiming, "H-hey! Isn't that him?" The two looked in the direction to where the young Hyuuga heiress was pointing, to see a certain raven haired boy currently ambling along the path, presumably looking for someone or something.

Sakura's eyes lit up brightly. "S-Sasuke!"

The boy looked up, and almost smiled at his new friend frantically waving for him to come over. He complied, carrying his bento box under his arm.

"Sasuke. W-where have you b-been?" she asked, grinning as Sasuke sat down next to them, surprising both Naruto and Hinata. Since when were they so close? Did it have something to do with that massacre...?

"Just ... taking a break, I guess." he murmured, biting into some onigiri with a lot of ... were those tomatoes? Who would've thought it?

She nodded. "Right."

"So, you're going to eat with us?" Naruto asked, thoroughly confused.

"What's it look like?" Sasuke sighed, then added, "Dobe."

The cerulean eyed boy fumed and sputtered at this. "T... TEME!!" he declared, furious.

Hinata was just about to calm him, when they all heard something to make them stop dead in their tracks. Sakura was laughing.

When Hinata or Sasuke looked back- Heck, if even Naruto checked, he could never remember Sakura actually full-out laughing. He grinned at this. They all like the sound very much and didn't want her to stop. Alas, she ran out of steam once she noticed that everyone was staring at her, making her blush deeply and shrink back. "Uh... S-sorry, Sasuke. Naruto-kun."

Sasuke frowned. _'Why does she call the dobe with that suffix, and not me?'_he thought, growling inwardly at the said blond. Knowing that they were probably extremely close, infuriated him for some reason. So, he did what he would usually do; speak out. What a naive young boy, given the circumstances, but this boy rarely took 'no' as an answer. "Sasuke-kun." he stated.

This time the staring focused on him.

"Call me Sasuke-kun." Sasuke repeated, just as firmly.

Sakura stared at him for a second before grinning. "Um, s-sure, Sasuke...-kun." This reminded her of when she had changed his name from Sasuke-san to Sasuke.

Naruto then got a horrified look to his face. "I am SO not calling you that, you gay teme!"

Sasuke went bright red. "I-I didn't mean you. Just Sakura. Hinata, too, if she wants, that is..." He shrugged, now having regained his composure. Truly, as long as Sakura called him that (and NOT Naruto! 0.o), he'd be fine. Must be something like first attachments being the strongest then any others you make. Ones that you also know are there for you when you need it most.

Hinata smiled politely at him, but Naruto growled. "No. Way. Fine, Sakura-chan can call you that, but don't you dare take Hinata-chan away, too!" he exclaimed, glaring once again.

The Hyuuga blushed brightly at this, but the blond boy beside didn't notice, as he was too busy quarrelling. Sasuke and Sakura did, though...

Sakura sidled up next to Hinata and whispered extra quietly in her ear, "D-do you have... ano. A _crush_ on anyone? I-I think that's what they're c-called."

Hinata's blush increased deeply. "N-nani?!"

Sakura sighed. "Do y-you like Naruto-kun?"

"Of course. Why w-wouldn't I?" she asked, not getting the full meaning.

"I mean... l-like like. Crush like. Do y-you?"

"Oh..." Hinata paused. "I-I'm not sure." she said, finally.

Sakura nodded in full understanding. "Alright, I was just wondering."

The two girls grinned at each other. This was the start of when they both realized that any female problems they had, they would have each other to rely on and figure things out with. They had each other's back. A very nice thing to know; especially when hanging out with two boys, one egoistical, the other hyper and slightly insane.

**A few days later**

It had become apparent that Sakura was officially Sasuke's closest friend, along with the side friends of Naruto and Hinata. Of course, this meant that all four always had their lunches together every day, hung out after school, and sometimes sat together during the lesson hours. Something that was also apparent was the rage directed straight at Sakura; fan girls.

The dreaded females that made you either shake, want to pee your pants, or scream like a little girl. They were terrifying, especially when they had a target and that target was you.

Their current mission: exterminate Forehead Girl.

Oh, yes. Ami was part of this group, and she wanted pay back. And she would get it, too.

Sakura was always around their 'true love', and he didn't mind her! He must be under a spell of sorts. Of course, that was Ami's, Ino's, and a few other girls' opinions. Sad, really.

Of course, that's not to say that Hinata wasn't targeted to, as she had also befriended Sasuke, it just wasn't as bad. Besides the Hyuuga and Uchiha were very rarely alone as just the two of them, but they acknowledged each other with friendly ease.

Ami fumed as Sakura laughed at something Sasuke said, making him embarrassed. Obviously, he hadn't meant to be funny, but Sakura probably fount that even more amusing. That is, until she noticed that he was embarrassed, so she quickly stopped, repeating "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" over and over again (with the occasional stutter), until he finally forgave her. He wasn't really mad, it just was a bit of a blow to his proud, stubborn Uchiha ego.

Ino practically death-glared at the pink haired, eight year old. "So innocent and lucky." she hissed to her fellow Sasuke fans. "But with a big forehead that helps her come up with spells to bewitch poor Sasuke-kun! She even calls him with the '-kun', now, and he doesn't even mind!"

The young girls gasped and Ami added, "I've heard _him_ ask _her_to hang out before, too!" The girls all glared, positive that Sakura was doing some sort of evil work. "They always do kunai and shuriken practice together and she goes to his house." the brunette whispered, hoarsly.

More gasps and sharp glares. Another girl, going my the name of Mayuka finally stated, as angrily as her childish voice could muster, "Forehead Girl is going down."

Nods all around at this remark. Oh, yes, Sakura was in danger. Even if these simple minded fan girls were weak, too many of them and she could be in over her head.

**Back to the group of four**

Naruto burst out laughing as Hinata and Sakura giggled quietly. Sasuke just glared, furiously. "Hah! Sasuke -snicker- you _seriously_ -muffles laughter- should see their looks." the blond barely got out.

"I don't care. Fan girls piss me off." he grounded out.

Sakura and Hinata's eyes widened. "W-we're sorry, Sasuke-kun!" they chorused, stuttering at the exact same time and everything.

Sasuke rolled his onyx orbs at the two female best friends. "Whatever." He sighed.

The two grinned shyly, knowing that that was his way of forgiving them or letting them know that it was OK. Ever since Sasuke had started eating lunch with them, Hinata had also, timidly at first, called him Sasuke-kun. Of course, in the beginning it had earned the young Uchiha quite a few glares from Naruto and Hinata TONS of death threats from fan girls, but they had all backed down with a few cold glares from both Sakura **(AN: 0.0 Creepy! I'm starting to think that she's been hanging out Sasuke a little TOO much! Lol)**and Sasuke.

Naruto still swore that he had it out for Sasuke, but over all, the two boys couldn't be closer.

"SASUKE-TEME! I told you to ask Hinata not to call you that! You're stealing them away from me." the blond boy pouted, anime tears pouring out his cerulean eyes.

Sasuke just 'Hn'd, and muttered, "Dobe..."

The two rivals and best friends glared at each other intensely, and just before everyone could _swear_that they saw static electricity between the two, they both stopped abruptly and simultaneously, before smirking (Sasuke) or grinning (Naruto) and walking off.

Well, that freaked everyone out, but suddenly Sakura and Hinata, as if a little light bulb went off in their heads at the same time, both called out to them, "We're st-still in class!"

Sasuke and Naruto froze, then the blond darted back, nervously, as Sasuke stated coolly, "I know. I need water."

Okay, it was obvious that he had just made that up on the spot, but it (successfully) made Naruto fume, the fan girls melt at his coolness, and Sakura frown. "B-but, Iruka-sensei is just about here, and if you're not, y-you'll get your first l-late."

_'Darn Sakura and her knowledge.'_Sasuke thought, annoyed, but he smirked anyways, seeing this as a perfect moment to annoy his fans and best friend. "Right. Thank you, Sakura."

"Agh! Teme!"

Yeah, the three friends were getting along just fine, but no one noticed the one glaring hatefully at a certain girl from one of the windows in another class room. A room for the children one year their senior; the nine-year-olds. "Tch. I don't see how the main house is so big. Their members are so weak. However, fate must have planned for us to be in the same academy." he murmured, thoughtfully, still glaring. "Our destiny will intertwine... Hinata-sama."

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**AN: 0.0 I've written a lot for this story, ne? YAYS!! XD Of course, this chapter is shorter than I wanted, I'm just getting started and I needed to end it there. Sorry! Lol I'm guessing that you know who that person is? Hee hee. Anyways, hope you guys like this chapter. It's hard to type everything up... Ow. T.T Well, review and enjoy, peoples! Thanks to those who have already, as well. :D**

**These are the wonderful reviewers (I -heart- you! XP):**

_mkt_, _Amaya-Chan,_ and _cute0anime0addict_

**- Cady :D**


	4. Fate, Clouds, and Dogs… Oh my!

**Disclaimer: **Nuh-uh. XP

Summary: What if nine particular kids found each other when they were young and when they needed it most? Before Sakura met Ino. Before Naruto befriended Iruka. Before Gaara went crazy. After Sasuke's clan's massacre. After Gaara's dad tried to kill him. After Neji's dad was killed. During the story of their life.

**Extras:**

Fluff: These aren't the actual pairings, just stuff that have hints (friendship) of them, but aren't going to happen, okay? NaruSaku, SasuHina, NejiTen, KibaHina, NejiSaku, and a few more.

Pairings: NaruHina, SasuSaku, ShikaTema, NejiOC (maybe), KibaHana (Aw, come on! Hanabi is awesome! Besides, if he can't get Hinata, he can at least get her sister… XD), ChouIno, and GaaOC.

Main character(s): Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Sakura ... and four more come up in this one.

**AN: The pairings are completly sorted out! Another thing off my back... -Phew- Just note that the pairings above won't happen for a LONG time, mkays? They're eight, for goodness' sake! -.-' Lol.**

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**Story of My Life**

Ch. 3 – Fate, Clouds, and Dogs… Oh my!

"Sakura…" a warning voice called out. "I better not find you out of bed again."

A small '_Eep_' was heard, then the pitter-patter of little feet scampering across the wooden floors above – supposedly, the said emerald-eyed girl heading back into her covers – followed by a small fit of coughs.

Sasuke sighed as Hinata and Naruto giggled quietly. _'Typical Sakura.' _They all thought, but wouldn't dare to voice that out loud, for fear of further annoying Sakura's agitated parents.

Her father gave a growl that sounded an awful lot like 'damn gaki', earning a jab in the stomach from his second wife (Sakura's step mother), and three suspicious stares from their young visitors. _'That sounded more than just annoyed.'_

The man quickly composed himself, so as not to arouse suspicion **(AN: Too late! Lol)**, and faced the three kids standing in the Haruno's front hallway.

"Sakura is currently sick," He was interrupted for a moment by another fit of coughs from upstairs. "As you can plainly tell. Please come back later." He stated. Obviously they weren't welcome there.

Disappointed, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata all stepped out the door, wincing at the sound of Sakura's father slamming the wooden door shut tightly behind them.

"Wh-what now?" Hinata asked her two companions.

The two boys glanced at each other for a moment. So, Naruto suggested what they always did when it was just three of them. "You house?" He directed his question to the young Hyuuga heiress.

"Sure. I don't think that O-Otou-san will care too m-much. You don't mind, d-do you, Sasuke-kun?"

Hinata didn't stutter that much anymore if it was just the four (or, in this case, three) of them; something that they were all thankful for. Still, she couldn't get rid of it completely even then … yet. They all held hope.

Sasuke shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

Naruto and Hinata grinned. They both knew that that was Sasuke's way of saying that he wanted to. All of them were getting much better at reading the others. Sakura was the easiest to read, as she was the most emotional. Hinata next, then it was a tie between the two boys, believe it or not. Who knew that Naruto could fake a smile so well sometimes? Really makes you wonder…

"Alright!" The blonde boy cheered. "Let's go! I want to spar, Teme!"

"Hn."

"Hai!"

With that, all three left for the Hyuuga mansion in the huge compound on the other side of the village.

**Inside the Haruno's**

Sakura sighed as she watched her friends leave. She guessed, despite her father's cruel words of 'not wanting to talk to an ugly, sick person', that they were denied access to her room.

'Well,' she thought, sitting up from her bed and throwing her legs over the edge. 'Since I'm feeling much better now, I don't think he'd mind if I went out. Better be quiet, though.'

And so, the young Haruno, leapt out of her bed, and tip-toed across her bedroom floor. Stopping in front of her dresser, she grabbed a comfortable t-shirt that was rather faded with age, and a pair shorts. The shorts were rather new, and were a gift from Sasuke. They even had his clan symbol.

"I'm going to sleep. Good night and _don't check on me_!" she shouted through her door and down the stairs.

When she got the response of a few curse words and telling her to "Just shut up and sleep, will you, gaki", she grinned and looked out her second story window. It wasn't _too_ far to the ground, but she decided to climb out onto the roof first, then try to scale her way along to the cherry blossom tree at the side of their house.

Carefully crawling along the roof, she made to just above the tree. 'Now just to climb down, run off the property, and I'm home free! … Er, free of the home, anyway.' She mused to herself.

The only problems with this plan were; one, she was rather short, so reaching her legs down, even to the closest sturdy branch, would be difficult, and two, there was a window right in front of the tree, leading to the kitchen downstairs – a place that her step mother was often in.

When she finally gathered up all the courage she could possibly muster (and balance, too!), she slowly moved her strongest leg down, off the roof. Stretching it out as far as she could, Sakura finally felt the branch brushing her toes. Pushing herself off a little more, she got the other one on and soon, she was crouching (rather wobbly, but standing none the less) on the branch.

Once she was sure that she was balanced, Sakura started moving down the tree as quickly as possible, with out making a singe noise. That is, until…

_CRASH!_

Sakura winced. A rather weak branch that she had had her right foot resting on just fell to the ground. Hissing, she brought her scratched leg up to rest it a little higher on the tree.

A voice came from inside the house.

"What was that?"

"I'm not sure, dear. I'll go out and check."

"I think it came from that tree outside."

'_Shoot.'_

Ignoring the sudden pain in her leg, Sakura launched herself off the tree, landing rather clumsily on the ground below. Turned out that it wasn't that far, but it still hurt for some reason.

However, Sakura didn't have time to think about that. Instead, she took off, racing down the streets; running from the familiar sound … of her shouting parents.

She'd been caught.

'_Shoot, once more.'_

**At the Hyuuga's**

The three friends were peacefully chatting in Hinata's bedroom when Naruto remembered that he wanted to spar Sasuke. So, off to the Hyuuga's personal sparring courtyard they went.

However, just as they were nearing the court, they heard a scream in a room near by. It wasn't in the sparring area, though, so naturally, they were all put on their guard immediately.

All three rushed to the room that Hinata knew as the meeting room. A particular meeting was currently taking place concerning branch and main members.

Hinata got to the door first, but Naruto and Sasuke had both arrived before she could get it open. She was shaking terribly; so Sasuke took the handle of the rice paper door and threw it open quickly.

What they saw terrified each one to the bone. There, lying on his stomach in the middle of the room, his long hair splayed out around him.

"Uncle Hizashi!" Hinata exclaimed.

Naruto ran over to the man and turned him over. Fear, then horror crossed over his usually cheerful face.

"N-Naruto-kun?" the young Hyuuga heiress asked, slowly.

The blonde gulped. He _so_did not want to be the one to say it, but you didn't have to be some sort of specialist to know. "He… He's dead. Sorry, Hina-chan."

Hinata froze when she heard this and caught a glimpse of her rapidly paling uncle. _'The branch symbol! It… It's…'_

A small whimper was heard to the far corner of the room and when the three spun around to face it, they noticed a tiny, hunched up figure of a boy was hiding in the corner, clutching his forehead.

"Ne-Neji-nii-san!" Hinata exclaimed in fright and surprise. "Are you o-okay?!"

"Nii-san?" Naruto asked, turning to his friend, worriedly.

"Get … away … from…" he coughed up some blood. "Me."

"N-no. What h-happened?" she demanded to her cousin.

"You … stupid main … members think … that you're so … tough." He spat out. "You put … these … these _marks_ on us and … expect that you're … so superior because of … them."

It was obvious that he was getting better, but now Hinata was focused on something else. "Marks?" she asked, although pretty sure she knew what it was. _'No…'_

"Yeah! Don't act like you know nothing about this…. This thing!" he yelled out, and just before he could rush out, Naruto and Sasuke both smacked him once each to get him back down.

"Don't. Yell. At. Hina-chan." Both stated so calmly, that it was deadly.

Neji scowled up at them, but remained on the ground anyways. "Che. See? You're so pathetic that you have to have your so called 'friends' protect-"

_WHACK!_

_WHACK!_

Neji was hit down, once again, by the two furious boys.

"Guys; stop it!" Hinata shouted.

All three froze and turned to face the young girl. Apparently she was too angry and upset to even notice that she had yelled out with a single stutter.

"Just stop, alright? Neji; I do not need protection. These guys, however, are my friends. I don't want to hurt you and I never wanted to put that stupid curse seal on you." Her voice quieted down to a whisper, but they all could still hear it clearly. "I-I want to h-help you."

"Oh."

**With Sakura**

'_Finally!'_ the pink haired girl cheered inwardly. She had been chased since her street and had gotten completely lost. Still, she didn't care much about that. She was just glad that she'd made it away.

Suddenly, her leg's pain came back. Now that she had the time to relax, Sakura sat down on a near by stump to examine her right leg.

Hissing, she brought it up closer and noticed that it was stinging slightly from being scraped against the tree. It also looked like it had some other damage, but it was pretty minor. Most likely a sprain or something like that. "At least it isn't broken." She muttered, glumly.

"Hey! Are you okay, there?" a voice asked from behind her.

Sakura spun around quickly, in fear that it was some one that had been chasing her to bring her back to the house. Instead, a boy about her age with unruly hair, tattoos on his cheeks, and a big grin, greeted her.

"Wh-who are y-you?" She asked, timidly.

"Ah, sorry! Inuzuka Kiba." The brown haired boy said, sticking out his hand to Sakura. "You?"

Just as she was about to answer, another boy's voice came from behind Kiba and a little … downwards? "Kiba! Hurry up. You're missing the best one."

Peering past the Inuzuka, the emerald-eyed child saw a boy lying on the ground, seemingly watching the sky … or something. He had an unusual hairstyle, as his long-looking, brown hair was put up into a high ponytail.

His lazy, deep brown eyes, switched from the sky, to Sakura and her bloody leg, before switching back up again. "Ah, troublesome. Just when a great cloud is here, too." He mumbled.

"And that lazy guys over there is Nara Shikamaru." Kiba introduced, indicating to the skinny guy on his back.

Sakura grinned at them. She didn't feel all that shy around these boys for some reason. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

Shikamaru sat up, and for the second time since she had come, looked at Sakura. "Do you … like watching clouds?" he asked, slowly.

Her eyes widened and she bobbed her head up and down vigorously. "Y-yes, but I n-never get the chance. My p-parents are always t-telling me it's a w-waste of time."

The Nara boy nodded in understanding. "My mom's like that, too. Troublesome." He muttered.

Kiba laughed. "Akamaru and I get to do whatever we want, as long as we get our training in."

Shikamaru glared lightly at his friend. "Yarr, yarr. Stop showing off, Kiba."

"A-Akamaru?"

Both boys turned back to Sakura who had her head tilted in a confused manner.

"Who's th-that?"

Kiba grinned widely. "That's one of my best friends! He's right now at the vet, though."

"V-Vet?!" the pink haired girl asked, incredulously. "Why w-would your friend g-go to a vet?"

"He's a mutt." Shikamaru stated, bluntly.

Kiba spun around to the boy lying contentedly on the ground. "He is not! Take that back! He's a certified nin-dog."

"Troublesome."

That just got the young Inuzuka more annoyed, but he remembered that Sakura was still there, and most likely, extremely confused.

"So… Akamaru is y-your dog? But w-why would h-he be your best f-friend?"

Kiba paused. "He's just the closest to me … I guess."

By now, all three were sitting comfortably cross-legged on the ground, except for Shika, who was still lying on his back. Still, he was wary of the conversation.

"But, you should have human best friends!" She then added quickly when she felt a glare coming from Kiba, "As well, I mean."

Kiba looked down and gave a shrug. "I don't know. I guess… I guess that it's just because most people already have friends or groups to hang out with, so I just stay with Akamaru, and, occasionally, Chouji and Shikamaru."

Sakura's small, pink brow furrowed at this and it was silent as she processed the boy's words. "W-well," she started off, slowly and unsure, but it grew more confident. "What if you – a-and Shika and A-Akamaru – all came to h-hang out with me and m-my friends?" she asked, hopeful.

Kiba and Shikamaru snapped their heads up to the gently smiling girl before them.

The dog-loving, young ninja paused for a moment. "Akamaru, too?" He just had to check. The very second he saw her nod in response; Kiba jumped up and tackled Sakura into a huge hug, knocking both to the ground. "Thanks, Sakura-chan!"

She grinned happily at him, but blushed at the closeness. She could never deal with being too close to anyone, except Hinata, of course!

Kiba realized this and let go of the poor, embarrassed girl, and they both turned to Shikamaru.

He had been watching the whole exchange, and he had to admit; he wouldn't mind joining, but he had one question, first…

"Alright," he started, mildly surprised that he hadn't been tackled yet, but figured that was because they could tell that he was going to say more. "But, only if Chouji can also be a part. He's quite nice, you'd like him."

Sakura immediately bobbed her head up and down, rapidly. "Of course!"

Shikamaru smiled gratefully at her, as he wasn't the type to just jump up and hug someone whom he had just met.

"Sounds good."

"I b-better get going, but I-I'll see you guys at th-the academy, ne?"

After receiving two nods and a muttered 'troublesome', Sakura continued her search after her three friends. It turned out that the break with the two guys had helped her leg considerably. It probably wasn't sprained in the first place, as she wouldn't have been able to run earlier, it was. _'That's a good thing!'_ she thought, cheerfully.

Sakura had most likely gotten her occasionally over-optimistic personality from the ever-joyful Naruto. Even hanging out all the time with a hyper blonde, shy female, and stoic occasional jerk, helped her shyness slowly fade, and now she'd have two more friends to boost her courage even more than before. Next was Hinata's quietness to work on!

'_Wait a minute…!' _Sakura stopped short at the entrance to the Konoha Park that she had come in what seemed like only minutes before (even though it was probably closer to a half hour or a full hour ago.). _'The Hyuuga's! Of course; we always meet at Hinata's house when one of us is missing, so why not now? Sheesh!'_

With that thought, the pink haired girl took off to her friend's family's compound about a mile or two away. She'd have to hurry if she was going to catch them! _'Time to put those ninja skills to good use.'_

**With the Hyuuga's again**

Just as Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke had finished helping Neji bandaged head up, Sakura rushed in, huffing and puffing. "What happened here?!"

Neji was going to run, but Hinata placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, as if to say _'It's all right. She's okay.'_

He relaxed and Sakura smiled at him. As the introductions were done, Neji explained what the fight was about.

Apparently some bandits had come for Hinata, but when they couldn't find her, they took Hanabi in her stead. The branch members, who were in charge (again, apparently) of the youngest Hyuuga, paid the price.

Hinata didn't agree with this at all, and though she was happy that Hanabi was safe, once more and under full surveillance, she didn't like the way that it was handled. Still, she was considered to be the weakest main branch member of her age group – even weaker than Hanabi – so she didn't get much say in the matter. In fact, she probably wouldn't even make it to be the next clan leader, as was her supposed destiny.

Hinata, in the words of her father; was 'completely unfit for a leader. She lacked power and presence – something that was needed when leading an important clan.' In other words; she was a complete failure. And her father wouldn't let her forget it.

Mind you, the man who had killed Hizashi, his younger twin who was currently lying dead on the floor, never tried to fix anything, anyways.

It was strongly rumored that Hanabi would become the clan leader and that Hinata would either be banished or dead before she could even come of age (eighteen). Cruel, as were their customs, and yet again, Hinata could say nothing of it.

Sakura, who was trying desperately, along with Naruto, to lighten the dreary mood, started rambling on about her day.

…Which brought up the top – by Sasuke, of course, much to the distaste of the grumbling Sakura – of why she wasn't resting in bed and why she had a huge cut on her leg.

After explaining everything in full detail (except the part about her parents chasing her; she had just said passing villagers did.) until each one present was satisfied, they all decided that, not only should Chouji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Akamaru join their quickly growing group, but so should Neji.

Receiving one hundred percent agreement from each child, they decided that they should head for bed. After all, it was around nine thirty at night and Sakura had to get home – she had been away for a while and hopefully, her parents would have calmed down by now.

"Good night, g-guys!" Hinata called out from her door, Neji at her side, as the two Hyuuga cousins watched their friends leave.

"Lunch at the regular spot!" Naruto yelled back, making sure that _everyone_ in the entire neighbourhood heard. That earned him a hard '_bonk_' on his head from Sasuke, but after whining for a moment or two, he was perfectly fine again.

Hinata grinned. "I can't wait for t-tomorrow!" she murmured.

"Hn." Neji agreed.

With that, the two went to bed, neither of them hearing the screaming and yelling coming from the other side of town…

* * *

**AN: Sorry! DX I didn't mean to take so long, really! My computer is currently taken down because someone -cough-MOM-cough- took it out while I was asleep. So I want to sleep in on the weekends? What's so wrong with that, I ask you. -Sighs- Lol. Still, this _is_ the longest chapter that I've ever made. 12 pages! 0.0 Anyways, here it is; started over from scratch (just this chapter, though!). Enjoy, ne, and review!**

**Dedications (my reviewers for the last chapter):**

_FenrirWolfSpirit_, _PieciesHateScorpios_, _cute0anime0addict_, _Frog-Wallet_, and _The Gandhara_

**THANKS!!**

**- Cady :D**


	5. Run!

**Disclaimer: **Er, yeah. I don't really get why anyone would think I owned Naruto. Still, if it's necessary, I don't. I suck at keeping things short, ne? -Sigh-

Summary:What if nine particular kids found each other when they were young and needed it most? Before Sakura met Ino. Before Naruto befriended Iruka. Before Gaara went crazy. After Sasuke's clan's massacre. After Gaara's dad tried to kill him. After Neji's dad was killed. During the story of their life.

Main character(s):Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, Neji, Chouji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and ... one last one! The person is in the next chapter, though. Don't worry! :D

Inspiration: _/watch?vW0jhv79Cetg&featureuser_ :)

--

**Story of My Life**

Ch. 4 - Run!

It was quiet. In fact, it was so quiet, that the silence was deafening. But no one dared to talk. Well, almost no one...

"... Sakura-ch-chan?"

Six heads whipped around to the whispered voice that dared to speak up.

Hinata sat there, staring at the pink haired girl in front of her. She was sitting on the grass under the tree, just like any other day, except today, Sakura wouldn't move. She wore a long, rather baggy coat, and pants that would practically drag along the ground if she were to stand up. Her small face was hidden by her soft hair, and she hadn't even looked at any single one of her friends since the day before.

This was troubling everyone, even the ones that she'd just met.

"Sakura-chan." Hinata tried again, this time louder. "What's wr-wrong? Are y-you seriously g-going to ignore u-us? Y-your friends?"

A jerk came from under the heavy clothes, but nothing else. They couldn't tell if that was a yes or no. It might have been neither one, but how could they tell?

Sasuke sighed. He was getting fed up with the stubbornly quiet child before him. "Look at me." he commanded, softly.

Another jerk, this time more clear - a shake of the head.

"Sakura... Look at me." he repeated. When he was met with both silence and no movement from her, though, he lowered a hand, grasped her chin gently, and lifted it up to face him. The action surprised her too much to stop it, so he succeeded in doing so. The Uchiha frowned. "You're crying."

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It was kind of obvious. Why else?" Neji muttered, then added, still getting used to trying to be friendly, "What happened, Haruno?"

Sakura tried to pull away, but Sasuke had different ideas. "Do you have clothes on underneath this coat?"

She nodded, not quite getting as to why he wanted to know this.

"Good." With that, he grabbed the zipper from the coat, dragged it down, and snatched it away, again too fast to be stopped.

Hinata gasped. "S-Sakura-chan! You've been ... b-beaten!"

Well, that got all seven's attention. "What?!"

"Look at her arms." Naruto said, carefully taking one of her purple arms and gently examined the bruises. "Who did this, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura just looked mortified, before giving a small squeak. "N-n-no o-one!"

'Great, she's back to extreme stuttering' Naruto thought sadly. 'It must have been really bad.'

"Wait a minute..." Shikamaru started. "You were fine when you were with us in the park, albeit a sore ankle."

Neji nodded. "And you didn't have this when I met you at our place."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "This had to have happened sometime between when you left the Hyuuga's and before school."

"These l-look too o-old to be from this m-morning... It h-had to have h-happened last night."

"Sakura. Did your parents hurt you?"

The poor girl froze. _'Stop analyzing me! I didn't do it to you when you were scared and hurt!'_ she wanted to scream. But, she couldn't. Instead, she just nodded feebly.

"I knew something was off about them!" Naruto hissed, already starting to stand up to go ... do _something_.

"C'mon. We have to go talk to the police about this." Sasuke stated, rising back to his feet.

"D-don't d-do th-that!" she exclaimed, pulling the closest person she could back down. It happened to be Naruto.

"'No one hurts any of our friends and get away with it. When one gets hurt; we all get hurt.' Isn't that what we used to say, Sakura-chan? Before we met anyone else? When it was just the two of us, didn't we agree one that?" he asked, looking in her glistening, emerald eyes. "We meant it for everyone; you included."

Sakura was startled at that, but a timid smile slowly crept over her face. "Th-thank you, Naruto-k-kun." she whispered, slowly losing some of her stutter again, to which they were all thankful for. "But, w-we cannot t-tell the police. I w-wasn't even supposed t-to tell anyone."

They paused, sitting back down nearby the girl. "What if... What if they started again, Sakura?" Chouji asked. Even if he only met her today - as bad of a day as it was - he could tell that there was something sweet and gentle about her that he wouldn't mind getting to know.

"... I... I don't know..." With that, she burst into tears again and Hinata and Naruto sat beside her, saying soothing words in between the girl's sobs. "I j-just... I just want to leave! I want to leave and never come back!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed.

Now, they probably would've laughed if she hadn't looked and sounded so serious. Also, she hadn't even stuttered - a sure sign that whatever she was saying, was most definitely something she meant. But... Leaving?

"Ano, i-isn't that a b-bit too _extreme_, S-Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked, worried for her friend deeply.

"No." she stated.

They were all taken back at this, but Naruto suddenly grinned. "Why not?" he asked. "I'll go pack."

Sakura whipped her head around to him, raising her eyebrows at her already standing friend. "Wh-what?! Y-you're not coming, N-Naruto-kun..."

He frowned. "Of course, I am. It's not like I have any family here and-" Sakura's face softened as she directed him a fond smile, but an alarmed expression took it's place once she heard his next question. "What if we all left?!" Naruto asked, excitedly.

Neji, Hinata, Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru all sputtered at this. "What?!" they exclaimed, incredulous at the boy's preposterous idea.

Sasuke, however, nodded. "I'm good with it." he said, suddenly.

Naruto and Sakura turned their smiling faces to him. "Really?"

"Why else would I have said it? I don't have a family here either." The Uchiha growled a bit at this, but he had to smile once he saw their happy expressions.

"Th-thanks so much, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, holding down the urge to fling her arms around him.

Naruto grinned again. "Awesome, Teme's aboard!"

The three then turned their gazes to their still flustered friends. "Well?"

They remained silent.

"... Hey, Hyuuga?" Sasuke started, looking at Neji.

The two cousins both knew whom he was speaking to, so the boy looked up. "Hn?"

"What have you got to stay here for?"

Neji's eyes widened. "...!"

"Exactly." He smirked, then looked at Hinata. "What about you?"

"W-well, my father-"

Sasuke cut in. "Prefers your sister."

"Uh, my f-friends-"

"Naruto, Sakura, and I are leaving and Neji might, too."

"Ano... M-my sister?" It came off as a question, though.

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow at this. "When was the last time you even talked to her?"

"..."

It was obvious who had won.

"Woah..." Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, and Sakura chorused. All four had been watching the interaction intensely. Sasuke was good!

"So... You guys coming?" he asked, though it really wasn't needed.

Neji scowled at being beat by an Uchiha, but he had to admit; Sasuke was a great interrogator for the age they were at. "Fine. I'm in."

"Hinata?"

She paused, then started to move slightly, but not as in getting up - as in shaking.

"You kn-know you don't h-have to, r-right, Hina-chan?" Sakura said, patting her gently on her trembling back. "I don't w-want to take y-"

The girl was cut off, however, when Hinata suddenly looked up, still shaking, and smiled as she whispered, "I'm in."

"But, you're shaking!" Naruto exclaimed, now worried that they had pressured the Hyuuga female into coming.

"Naw, I'm excited."

Then she, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura grinned at each other, as Neji smirked. "Good."

"What about you guys?" Naruto asked, turning to Chouji, Shikamaru, and Kiba. "Are you coming?"

The three boys exchanged glances. It was Shikamaru who spoke up. "While we agree with you guys leaving as you have nothing here; we still have families and we have an O.K. life here." Kiba and Chouji nodded in agreement, and Kiba continued. "Yeah, but we promise that we won't tell anyone. Sorry, guys..."

Naruto pouted. "Fine. Be that way. You'll just end up ratting us out, or getting us caught!"

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura exclaimed angrily.

"What? It's not like we wanted those guys to come, anyway."

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata murmured, whispering 'sorry's to the three boys.

"Naw, it's alright, Hina-chan, Saku-chan." Kiba smiled to the two girls. "The idiot doesn't matter!"

Naruto growled at this. "Hey!"

"Dobe. Let's go. It was up to them if they wanted to go or not." Sasuke stated.

Hinata and Sakura nodded. "Yeah, and we totally understand, guys. Thanks for being our friends, even if it was for just one day."

They smiled back at them. "Yeah, thanks as well. Well, we'd better get going; you have to pack and get ready. Good luck!"

After saying their goodbyes, as well as a reluctant sorry from the still pouting Uzumaki, the three went back to their homes, along with the other five so they could pack.

**Approximately 10:30 pm**

"Are you guys all ready?" Sasuke whispered, glancing at each of his friends, all five with packs on their shoulders and water bottles in their hands. He was obviously getting much better at speaking up.

Hinata and Sakura nodded.

"Dattebayo!" Naruto grinned.

"Hn."

"Then l-let's go..." Sakura said, though she was a upset to be leaving her newest friends.

"Y-you okay, Saku-chan?" Hinata asked.

"Mhm." She smiled. "Just thinking that I'm going to miss Kiba, Chouji, Akamaru, and Shikamaru."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Yeah, how else will we figure out our way without that Nara genius?"

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata reprimended. "That's not the o-only reason!"

He shrugged. "True, but I don't think that I'll miss Kiba too much." the blonde grumbled, still a little annoyed about their not-so-friendly conversation earlier.

Sasuke sighed impatiently. "Are we going or what?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto mumbled, glancing up at the Hokage's mountain before starting forward.

"Hey! Wait up!"

The five children froze and spun around guiltily, but let out a sigh of relief.

"Kiba! Chouji! Sh-Shikamaru!" Sakura and Hinata called out, grinning at the sight of their three remaining friends (along with Akamaru, of course.) making their way quickly and stealthily towards them.

Naruto frowned. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked.

Kiba glared at him. "Oh, so you guys have suddenly decided that we can't come?"

Well, that threw them back! "What?! You're all coming?" Sakura asked, smiling excitedly.

"Well, we decided that you were right. While we have family here, we don't have any other friends and our grades aren't that great... We figured that it would be best if we came." Chouji said. "Is that still okay?"

"Okay?! Of course it is!" Naruto exclaimed. "Thank goodness! We were just wondering how we'd make it to Mist with out Shikamaru's genious-ness..."

"Dobe." Neji and Sasuke growled. "What about us?"

"You guys? Genious'?" He laughed. "Yeah, right!"

"..."

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah, Hina-chan?"

"... Run."

"Thanks Hina-chan."

With that, the blonde took off, racing for his life as the two Hyuuga and Uchiha prodigies were hot on his trail.

Sakura, Chouji, Hinata, Kiba, and even Shikamaru burst out laughing, albeit quietly, as they didn't want to get caught. "We should move out, eh?" Kiba suggested.

The other four nodded. "The sooner; the better." The Nara agreed.

"Mist - here we come!!" Naruto yelled, before getting two _hard_ bonks on his head.

"Shut _up_, Dobe!"

"Well, sor-_ry_! ... Temes..."

Sakura and Hinata grinned to each other. _'This is going to be fun...'_ they thought, both thankful for their friends. Of course, they didn't know what lay ahead of them, but they would have one heck of a fun time finding out.

**After about two hours of non-stop travelling**

"Okay, so if we're going to Mist," Shikamaru started, finally breaking the lingering, yet still comfortable, silence. "Then we'd better turn right at the next crossroads. At least, according to this map."

They nodded, but suddenly froze when they heard Sasuke state, "Isn't it a little too quiet? And too easy?"

"..."

It just sunk in now that no guards had stopped them at the gates, and while they had been travelling for a while, this was probably what they had been waiting for - someone to notice.

"Crap!" Naruto shrieked, when a couple dozen kunai came whizzing at them from all directions. "Let's move!" he hollered.

Everyone nodded, trying their best to run and dodge at the same time. "If these are ANBU, we're screwed!" Sasuke hissed.

"... Not if we make it over the border." Shikamaru called out, just loud enough for the others to hear.

"You're a life saver, Shika!" Sakura squeaked, too scared to even stutter.

"How much longer will we have to go?" Neji asked hastily, as he jumped to the right as to avoid a random shuriken.

The Nara answered without looking back. "Once we've arrived at the crossroads I told you about, we only have about two miles before we pass the border. However, I'm not sure how close the crossroads are, same with the level of these ninja. If they're too high; we don't stand a chance!"

Suddenly, Kiba pointed ahead of them, along with Neji and Hinata, who had their byakugan activated. "I see the crossroads, I think!"

"How far?" Sasuke questioned, hissing when he noticed that each one of them were slowing considerably with their exhaustion and a few minor wounds.

"... There." Neji stated, just as they all raced through into a small clearing and three roads separating in opposite directions.

"Which way again?!" Chouji asked hurriedly.

"Left...!" Although, the genius wasn't really thinking properly. He was more focused on the surrounding weapons and a particularly stinging cut on his left arm.

Not wasting another second to check, all eight dashed off towards the left path.

They breathed a sigh of relief when the weapons stopped firing. "Neji; check how far the border is from here." After receiving a nod, Shikamaru turned to the other Hyuuga. "Hinata; I need you to figure out what kind of ninja they are and how close."

Hinata smiled. She was finally going to be of use! She couldn't spoil it now. Quickly, she turned her head to the where they felt the main firing coming from and re-activated her bloodline. Scanning the trees, she finally spotted them. Hinata squinted her pearly eyes, barely making out their uniform, but she did. "Chuunin. Or Jounin. Defitely not ANBU, the guards, or genin." She paused. "Hold on, they're not even from Konohagakure! They're from Sound!"

"Sound?!" Kiba checked.

She nodded.

"Great..." Shikamaru sighed. "Neji! How far?"

"... That's not Mist."

"What?!" Sasuke exclaimed, angry that he couldn't also turn on his bloodline to check, as he hadn't earned it yet.

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked, getting rather frustrated.

"... I mean; welcome to Suna."

"Shoot." All eight chorused.

--

**AN: I'm not getting too much better at length, am I? Arg...! Lol Hope you guys like this; my hits and reviews have skyrocketed (well, compared to what it was before, anyway), so hopefully that means you are enjoying this in some way. XD Ja!**

**My (AWESOME) reveiewers:**

_PieciesHateScorpios_, _cute0anime0addict_, _xXxyellow-rose-violinistxXx_, _mkt_, _The Gandhara_, and _xxkazstarxx_

**You guys just don't know how much you inspire me!**

**- Cady :D**


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